A Little Wave, A Big Change
by loverofeevee
Summary: The usual story. Manipulative Dumbles, Harry gaining his independence. This takes place after Harry's third year. It was a perfectly normal day in Privet Drive. The birds are singing, the bees are buzzing, and the Dursleys were their usual cheerful selfs. Then suddenly...Now what on earth is going on this time!
1. Chapter 1

_I just can't seem to stop writing Manipulative Dumbledore stories. Forgive my spelling errors, my spell check for some reason isn't working. _

A Little Wave, A Big Change

In a normal tidy street of Privet Drive; in a quiet normal house called number four; in the smallest of the four normal bedrooms; there were a series of noises.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

'Well this is fun' Harry mumbled to himself, tossing the little red ball he'd swiped from his cousin's room.

Back and forth. Back and forth. Back and forth.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

'Happy early Birthday to me…'

Thump!

'All I wants a family…'

Thump!

'To love me for Harry…'

Thump!

'Just Harry. Just me'.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

'Yeah… No-one around who does that'.

The ball went lopsided and rolled out his reach. He watched it lazily.

'Well… Maybe Sirius. He seemed happy enough to see just Harry'.

Harry smiled. Pity Sirius couldn't come back to Privet Drive. Not that his relatives knew that. Only words they processed were mass murderer escaped and Godfather.

He glanced towards the yet again barred window of his little prison. Making threats about a killer on the loose didn't stop his Uncle taking away most of the room's assets and using them as kindling. Not Dudley's broken toys, they went into the attic. Harry had precisely two things left, three if you counted Hedwig's cage. His lovely broken bed, legs aside, and his lovely broken chest of drawers, missing three drawers. Not that it mattered. His lovely old tatty clothes all fitted into the remaining two. And his trunk with everything else was downstairs, in the cupboard, as normal. At least his relatives allowed Hedwig to go out and hunt this summer.

Harry started to sing the Birthday song again. He didn't know why. It was a week and a half until his special day

He looked back to the ball. Not like there was much else to do. He pondered for a moment as he tried to remember the spell.

'Accio red ball'.

He waved his hands dramatically, and of course nothing happened.

Harry grinned a bit.

'Accio red ball!' he called.

Idly he copied the wand movements with his finger.

'Accio red ball!'

Harry snorted and sat up.

'Accio red ball! Red ball come to me! Here ball, come here ball! I command thee red ball come to me!'

His relatives would kill him if they saw him. Good thing they were out for the day. Giggling he squinted his eyes and waved his hand, staring intently at the little red sphere.

'Accio red ball' he whispered with a giggle.

The giggle became a squeak when the ball flew into his hand. Harry dropped the thing like it was hot coal. Pressing his lips together he crouched and stared at it. He sat back up and looked thoughtfully as his hand.

'Accio red ball?'

It twitched.

Harry held his breath.

'Accio red ball!'

And again it jumped into his hand. He stared at it in wonder, falling back to his original position against the wall. Robotically he started throwing it again.

Thump!

Was that wandless magic?!

Thump!

I thought that was hard to do!

Thump!

Oh crap I'm gonna get in trouble!

The ball lay forgotten as he scrambled to the window fearfully. After five minutes he started to breath easier. After ten minutes he relaxed. After twenty minutes he began to smirk. Harry looked back to the ball. What was it Hermione said?

_It's all about intent._

She of course meant along with using the wand, but this was much better.

Harry struck his hand out and focused.

'Accio red ball!'

It flew to him. Harry laughed, this was much easier than using his wand. Tossing the ball up and down he looked at the door. He wondered if he could do other things.

Unlocking doors for example.

Focussing intently at the block of wood Harry concentrated.

'Alohomora!'

He squeezed the ball when the lock clicked and the door swung open. Harry smothered a giggle and stepped out. As he went downstairs a plan began to form. It wasn't long before he turned fourteen, he could manage by himself until school started. He'd need some money though.

'Alohomora!'

The cupboard door clicked open and he dragged his trunk out. Bringing it into the kitchen he grabbed some string and rummaged around until he found his Gringotts key. He tied it securely round his neck and looked at the fridge. Well he was hungry.

Munching on a sandwich Harry ran back upstairs. He grabbed Hedwig's cage and his clothes. Running back down he stuffed the clothes into his trunk, looking thoughtfully at the cage. What was that spell again?

'Reducio!'

He giggled when it shrunk down and placed it in his trunk. His broom followed. After a moment the ball was tossed inside too. Harry crossed his arms and thought. Dudley didn't _need_ the broken toys. Smiling Harry headed back upstairs and into the dusty attic. He found the boxes and rummaged through.

A gameboy colour with a few games, all cracked or with pieces missing. A stuffed bear, stuffing leaking out. A few children's books, pages torn out. Some toy cars, in pieces. An art set, most pencils snapped. Some action figures, mangled. And a little train, with tracks, practically smashed.

'Reparo!'

Harry watched gleefully as the broken toys mended themselves, broken parts flying from other boxes. He picked up the gameboy, slotted in a game and flicked it on. It needed batteries, but it worked. Harry made a quick summery. He needed sketchpads. It would be nice to have a couple more game cartridges as well. Nodding he took the things downstairs and found a place for them in his trunk. He also needed money if he wanted to get to the Leaky Cauldron. Digging around uncovered some galleons. That would do nicely for the Knight Bus. Taking out his wand he looked at his trunk. Maybe…

'Reducio!'

Smiling Harry placed the matchbox trunk in his pocket. This would make it a lot easier. He needed a disguise though. But he couldn't remember any spells for that. Maybe it could work without any spells. Harry went to the hall mirror and stared intently at himself. He closed his eyes and imagined. Blue eyes, brown tidy hair, no scar. He could see it clearly. He could see it better now that he'd opened his eyes. Harry rubbed his forhead, his scar was still there but he couldn't see it. Brilliant!

He spotted Hedwig as he headed outside.

'Hey girl. Think you could meet me in Diagon Alley? Try not to be seen'.

She hooted and flew off. She knew how to look after herself. And now her little Wizard was learning to do the same. Hedwig had lost count of the amount of times she wanted to attack the huge ugly human who harmed her Harry.

Fighting the urge to skip Harry walked away from number four Privet Drive. He walked until he reached the park, then stuck out his wand.


	2. Chapter 2

The ride to the Leaky Cauldren just as terrifyingly brilliant as last year. Harry laughed and stumbled out like a drunk man, waving Stan and the blue monstrosity away. He received a few looks as he walked to the alley entrance, though it was more because he was still giggling. Harry stared at the wall for a moment, then smiled and tapped the correct bricks. Diagon Alley opened up to him in all its glory. Humming the Birthday song he leisurely strolled down and window shopped as he headed for the bank. He couldn't remember the last time he felt so good. His good mood even had him bowing slightly to the Goblin guards as he passed, stunning both of them. Harry went to the shortest line and waited patiently until it was his turn.

'How can I help you?'

'I'd like to withdraw some money please. I've got my key here' Harry replied politely, taking the key from round his neck. The Goblin glanced up in surprise. Not many Wizards were polite to his kind. He pered at the young boy, seeing right through the glamour. His eyes widened slightly. They'd been trying to get in touch with this one for a while now.

'Of course Sir. Come this way please'.

Tilting his head slightly Harry watched the Goblin place a closed sign on his desk and hop down. This didn't happen the last few times he was here. Shrugging to himself he nodded and followed the little being.

'I'm glad you were able to come, Mr Potter. We've been trying to reach you since you turned eleven'.

Harry frowned. He didn't bother wondering how the Goblin recognised him.

'Reach me. Is there something wrong?'

The Goblin stopped at a large oak door and knocked.

'Everything will be explained by your account manager'.

A call came from inside and he opened the door.

'Barrok, Mr Potter is here to see you'.

Harry was ushered in and the first Goblin left the room, closing the door behind him. Well this was becoming a strange day.

'Mr Potter, please have a seat. My name is Barrok. I have been the Potter account manager for many years. You are proving to be a difficult customer'.

'Oh. Um, I'm sorry' Harry replied.

The large Goblin waved him off and brought out some paperwork.

'I'm sure by now your magical guardian has told you of your duties. We merely wish to go over them and see to a few details'.

'Duties? Magical guardian? I'm afraid I don't understand' Harry replied in confusion.

Barrok leaned over and peered at the young man.

'Do you mean to tell me, Mr Potter, that you haven't been told of your duties?'

'No Sir' Harry answered.

What came next was a string of what appeared to be cursive language. Not that Harry was an expert on Goblin tongue.

'My apologies Mr Potter. That a member of a house as old as yours has not been given information regarding that house… This is worse than I thought'.

'Sir?'

Barrok looked at Harry.

'The Potter family is what Wizards call a Noble and Ancient House. They have been around practically since magic first appeared. When a child of such a house turns eleven, they are to be shown their duties to give them a head start for when they come of age. These duties normally involve an in depth look at your finances and an introduction to the Wizengamot'.

Harry's head was spinning.

'Wizengamot? Finances? Noble and Ancient House?! Forgive me but I have no idea what your talking about! I can't see me needing this for just one vault'.

Barrok cursed again.

'Mr Potter you have more than one vault. Your trust fund was set up to cover school costs. The Potter family vaults should have been made available to you when you turned eleven. Normally this would wait until you turn of age, but as you are the last in the line it is allowed. Your mother also opened her own vault'.

Harry tried to speak, but nothing came out. Someone hadn't told him about this! He had no idea who his magical guardian was, but already he was not happy with the person.

'So… Could I see these vaults?' he finally squeaked out.

Barrok grinned.

'Of course. We have a lot to cover today. Your guardian has a lot to answer for'.

'Do you know who it is?' Harry asked.

The grin became feral.

'Indeed I do, Mr Potter. We have many names for him, but I believe you know him, as Albus Dumbledore'.


	3. Chapter 3

Lily's vault was full of sentimental treasures. There was a little money but Harry wasn't at all interested in it. He could have spent the entire day looking through journals, letters and photos. Better yet all his old baby things were there. At Barrok's urging to move on, Harry opened his mother's trunk and shrunk everything to place inside, emptying the small vault completely. Barrok looked positively gleeful at Harry's use of wandless magic.

Their next stop was the Potter family vault. Within that Harry found the Potter ring and his parent's Wills. The ring shrunk to fit snugly on his middle finger, Barrok explained that it changed his title to Lord Potter. Harry told the Goblin that being called Lord Potter was great, but he much prefered to be called by his first name, stunning Barrok into making the same offer. Very few Wizards allowed Goblins to use their first names. The rest of the vault was full to the brim with treasures, some of which also made their way into his trunk . The second vault was just as full, but with money. While the first vault was the size of his trust one, the second was pretty much the size of a small house.

'Shall we head back up?' Barrok asked after a while.

Harry nodded and followed the Goblin back to the office. There, they got down to serious business. Harry began to realise why the Headmaster hadn't told him all this. Dumbledore had apparently tried to take control of his vaults ever since his parents had died. The Goblins though had other ideas and stopped him at every turn.

His parents Wills specifically stated that he wasn't to go to the Dursleys, and if Sirius wasn't available then he was to go to a list of people. Neville's parents were on that list. So was Susan Bones' family. Heck Remus Lupin was also on it, Werewolf issues aside. This discovery led to a string of curses from Harry and a long discussion with Barrok on Harry's little adventures in school and his treatment at the Dursleys. The Goblin's eyes went all Dobby when Harry spoke about the Basilisk and the diary. Harry's questioning look was answered when Barrok explained that since he killed it, Harry could now claim the Basilisk carcass, and gave the value of such a creature.

Harry nearly fell off his seat. That…was a lot of money. Money that the Goblins apparently were willing to spend for the carcass. Harry thought about it, and agreed only on the condition that the money be split equally between the petrified victims. Ginny, Hermione, Colin, Justin, Penelope, and yes even Mr Filch for Mrs Norris, deserved that money more than him. It was just a pity he couldn't do anything for Myrtle and Sir Nicholas.

Barrok was starting to realise just how remarkable this young man was. He gracefully accepted and said as soon as the carcass was harvested the money would be in the victim's accounts. He agreed to lead a team to Hogwarts once school started so Harry could show them the chamber. Dumbledore would love that.

With that done, Barrok then passed over all information regarding his vaults, including bank statements Dumbledore had kept to himself. Turns out Harry had almost three billion galleons to his name. He also owned the ruins of Godric's Hollow and a fair sized manor somewhere in Scotland. That gave Harry, after he woke up from fainting, a lot to think about. Barrok also gave him a rough talk through about presentation and how to speak at the Wizengamot. Granted Goblins wouldn't go anywhere near the ministry, but speaking and presenting yourself in a formal mannor was something anyone could do.

Harry decided, since he had all his mother's things, that her vault could now be closed. His trust vault would also be closed and the money transferred to the Potter vault. The Potter vaults were fine as they were, which thankfully left Harry with only two keys instead of four, though he did ask for a way of retrieving money without coming in every time. Barrok happily handed over a bottomless bag and a kind of credit card for the muggle world, and also offered to make one key which would do for both vaults, which Harry accepted.

With all that done the Goblin then decided to check out Harry's scar, which he'd been eyeing from the moment Harry took down his glamour, and hustled the boy down to their healers. What they found caused the biggest explosion of curses yet.

Harry had a soul piece attached to his scar, what the Goblins called a horcruxe, feeding off his magic! It could only belong to Voldermort and was apparantely some of the darkest magic around. Harry nearly fainted for a second time after hearing that. Barrok was quick to send out an order to search for any more filthy things.

More than that, Albus Dumbledore had placed blood wards around the Dursley home, which were attached to Harry's core and also draining his magic!

The Goblins were quite frankly stunned that Harry was able to do any magic at all, let alone wandless magic.

They immediately asked, and received permission, to remove the soul piece and break the bindings caused by the wards.

The process was terrible. And very, very painful. Harry wasn't sure how long the torture lasted. It felt like a lifetime. Barrok and the Goblin healers watched in concern as one of their richest customers thrashed and screamed. They had to tie Harry to the bed and douse him with pain relief potions before the procedure even began, knowing how bad it would be.

The concern turned to panic when suddenly Harry's scar burst and the boy slumped back and lay still, a horrible black sludge oozing from the wound.

IN OTHER LOCATIONS

Somewhere deep underground, in a vault guarded by a Dragon, a golden cup let out a horrific wail and melted, black sludge seeping out of it and setting fire to everything else. The Goblin in charge of the vault rushed down the moment he heard the alarm, peeked inside and quickly closed the door. Well, that gave him the perfect opportunity to get rid of that bloody Dragon. It's not like the owner of the vaults would care, being in Azkaban for life and all. He'd figure out what to do with what was left of the assets once the fire burnt itself out.

In an old shack under the floorboards, another wail screamed out of a small ring, followed by the sludge. The ring melted and set the shack on fire. After the fire was put out by the non magicals living in the area, all that was left was a little black stone. No-one noticed a skeletal hand reaching out to pick it up and place it deep within a pocket. The first Deathly Hallow was reunited with its creator.

In a room in Hogwarts, full of all sorts of things, a diadem tumbled off it's stand as it wailed and oozed. The House Elves reacted quickly to put out the fire and clean up the mess. The Headmaster was told and passed it off as unimportant as he had other issues to see to.

Sirius and Remus got the fright of their lives when Kreacher started screaming from somewhere in the house, followed by a wailing noise. They followed the sounds to find the House Elf thrashing around while a locket around his neck oozed out sludge and burnt through his chest. Neither the ex-convict or the Werewolf were all that upset as the Elf let out his last gasp of air. They were a little horrified by the way he died and immediately started carefully checking out the odd little locket.

BACK TO THE INFIRMARY

The infirmary became alive with activity as Goblins rushed around gathering equipment and setting it up. Barrok was thanking every deity he knew that Goblins kept up to date with muggle medicine as the healer massaged Harry's still heart. Wizards wouldn't dream of using shock therapy, classing it as a form of torture. Goblins however knew muggles had their own way of doing things, and that it usually worked.

Everyone let out a sigh of relief as Harry's heart started back up. His scar was cleaned and more pain potions were forced down his throat. It was another hour before Harry woke up.

'You didn't happen to see the Hippogriff herd that passed by?' Harry groaned, after he'd been given yet more pain potions and some water.

Barrok couldn't help but chuckle.

'We lost you for a moment there Harry. I recommend staying put for a few hours. It would be unwise to argue with the healers'.

Harry knew he must be feeling bad since he agreed without protest. He spent the next couple of hours chatting, well the Goblins chatted while he croaked out a few words here and there. He found he got along surprisingly well with them, especially their unique style of humour. With that soul piece out of his head, he also found he could think a lot clearer.

His wandless magic was another story. He tried to summon a glass of water and wound up waking a half hour later. Glass barely moved a ruddy inch. He got a scolding from the healers. Harry wondered if perhaps he'd accessed the power the soul piece contained. It would explain a lot. Looks like he'd have to start from the beginning. Bugger.

All of this had Dumbledore painted in a seriously bad light. It didn't help when Barrok explained blood magic was normally illegal, the only exception being a blood quill used on important documents. Harry decided from now on he would take anything the Headmaster said with a lump of salt. He'd asked that man why Voldermort was after him in first year and his answer was a pat on the head and a "don't worry about it". Harry was not a happy Wizard.

The Goblins kept him in until the next day before reluctantly releasing him, re-applying the glamour for him. Thanking everyone, including the Goblin who led him to Barrok, Harry left the bank.


	4. Chapter 4

Albus wasn't sure what happened. One moment he was sorting out a bit of paperwork for the tournament. The next all his little thingamabobs exploded. That is to say, all that were linked to Harry Potter. At the same time a House Elf appeared regarding a fire they'd seen to in the school. Albus waved the little creature off since the fire had already been put out. The explosion had startled Fawkes who flashed away, leaving Albus to rush to the fire and floo call Mrs Figgs. The wards around the Dursleys had fallen.

Half an hour later he arrived back in his office and slumped into his chair. Harry was gone. Mrs Figgs hadn't seen anything and the Dursleys were happy to see the boy away. They couldn't give anymore information since they were out at the time. All they knew was when they came back Harry and his owl had gone, along with all his things. Albus was sure Harry was still alive, it was now a matter of where he went to. Sirius was out, Albus handled all Harry's mail and knew the man hadn't contected his Godson yet. Nor had Harry tried to contact Sirius. Granted the wards being down meant the mail trace he'd placed was now off. The Weasleys were possible, but his best bet was Diagon Alley.

An hour wondering around though left him puzzled. Neither the boy nor his owl was anywhere in sight. Albus had also checked the bank and was told no.

Albus returned to his office to ponder this problem. What would make the wards fall like that? There was no sign of a fight at the Dursleys and no-one knew where Harry lived so it couldn't have been a Deatheater attack. Albus was about to floo call the Weasleys then decided against it. Molly would have his hide if she realised Harry was missing, and was more likely to floo call him if the boy showed up at her home. He did have a quick chat with Severus regarding any Deatheater activity. The man gave him a resounding no and put Albus back at square one. Perhaps Fawkes could find the boy, once the blasted Phoenix returned.

Sighing he turned to his collection and attempted to repair them. He'd just have to hope someone saw the boy and reported it. Preferably the right someone.


	5. Chapter 5

Harry's first stop was to check up on Hedwig. He spotted her as he came out the bank and motioned towards an alley, ducking in after she flew down.

'Hey girl. Sorry about not meeting you. I had a lot of things happen'.

She looked thoughtfully at him. Yes, there was something different about her little Wizard. It was like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. His magic looked, clearer. She hooted and accepted his apology, clearly the Goblin creatures helped him out.

Harry smiled in relief. An angry Hedwig usually meant a nipped ear.

'I've got tones of shopping to do girl. After that I'll book a room at the Leaky Cauldron. I know you're a bit low on treats, want some of the chicken flavoured ones this time?'

She bobbed her head. She knew he was just trying to butter her up, but she did like those chicken treats. She happily nibbled his ear and flew off. She'd be on the look out. That old bearded Wizard was snooping around yesterday and she wanted to make sure her Harry wasn't caught. She didn't much like Dumbledore, he kept trying to put spells on her to stop her delivering mail. She nipped his fingers last time he tried it.

Harry decided the first thing he'd do was check out a place that specialized in eye repair. Now that his scar was almost invisible he could do with getting rid of his glasses and having a new look. A rather expensive and painful proceedure later he left with special magical contacts. They'd been fused to his eyes and allowed him the chance to change his eye colour at will, though it took him a few shots at getting it right. He could also see through invisibility cloaks, spells or otherwise, and the owner threw in some night vision as well. All in all he felt it was worth the money. The shop owner swore confidentiality and Harry happily headed towards the shop that sold trunks. He browsed for a bit until the owner approached him and offered assistance.

Harry wasn't sure exactly what he wanted. Hearing that trunks could hold rooms left him even more frazzled. Eventually he dug out some parchment and started scribbling down what rooms a normal magical home would have, and where his things would fit into them. The owner left him to decide while he helped another customer. Harry scribbled and crossed out and huffed and scratched his head until finally he was left with a design he was happy with.

It was a simple enough design. A bedroom holding a double bed and big wardrobe. A bathroom with all the basic features, although Harry did ask for a larger bath, plus a little storage space. A fair sized potion lab with a cabinet, tables, sinks and cupboards. He was determined to to well in potions. And another room that would hold everything else. Harry decided on cupboards for all his things, a larder with status spells and plenty of bookcases. He also wanted a comfy chair. All storage he wanted spelled with Wizard space, and all furniture in oak, which was no problem. Harry also wanted a heap load of security spells and a trunk that was damn near impossible to damage. Both of these was also no problem. The owner also provided him with a shrinking via wand touch option, which Harry took, and a way to summon items without having to go inside, which Harry also happily took. The option to touch the crest and be transported inside, saving him from clambering around, was also accepted. And with the owner also swearing secrecy, Harry asked for the Potter crest to be added to help with that option. It would take the man a couple of hours to finish the trunk, oak with dragon hide and strong metal inlays. Harry paid upfront and left to let the man begin. He spotted Hedwig sitting on a rooftop and smiled at her as he headed to the bookshop.

Harry was always smart. He was certainly smart enough to tone it down when Vernon beat him for being better than Dudley. However he had kept his intelligence low in public when he arrived at Hogwarts. Some habits were hard to break. He did however like to study ahead on his subjects in secrecy. Ron would gag but Harry found it fun and interesting. It certainly helped when it came to things like the summoning charm. Having that soul piece out his head seemed to help clear his mind and he found himself raring to show the world that he wasn't just a stupid little boy. Hermione would be so proud of him. Grinning he strolled through the shop and picked out anything that caught his interest. A good fifty books later he made his purchase, had the attendant shrink the package down, and headed to Madam Malkin's. He was seen to by the woman herself who helped advise him on what would look good on him. A grinning Harry left almost an hour later with a nice full wardrobe worth of clothes.

He made a few more stops. Parchment, ink and quills. Hedwig's chicken treats and a perch to sit in his dorm room. Potion ingredients with plenty of extras and a few new cauldrons and other bits and pieces. And a wand holster, that was definitely needed. Just after the two hour mark Harry arrived back at the trunk shop and picked up his new trunk. His old one was sold to a second hand shop. His mother's he put in one of the cupboards. Dudley's old clothes he tossed into the nearest bin.

That done Harry made his way to the muggle world. He had an idea about a way of keeping in touch with his friends. He also wanted a butt load of batteries for his gameboy, some new games, more action figures, sketchpads and some muggle clothes. And food, couldn't forget food. As he passed through the Leaky Cauldron he spoke briefly with Tom and booked a room for as long as he needed it. After his second shopping trip and a nice dinner he met with Hedwig in his room and settled for the night. Unpacking and sorting could wait until tomorrow. So could writing a lot of letters.


	6. Chapter 6

It was quite a different Harry that appeared in the Weasley home for the quidditch world cup. With his scar so faded it was almost invisible, his glasses gone and his new clothes, one might believe he was another boy.

It had taken him a long time, and cost him a lot of energy, to take down the glamour the Goblins had put on him. Confirming that wandless magic now exhausted him made him determined to practice until he could do it without collasping. He'd spent his time on the levitation spell, managing to lift one of Hedwig's feathers a few inches off the ground after three days of constant practice. It frustrated him that he managed it so easily with the horcruxe in his head. Not that he wanted the soul piece pack, it was just annoying. He'd get it eventually, he just had to stop fussing over the little things. He used the rest of the time before the Weasley's invitation on his books.

Harry decided to keep everything he and the Goblins discovered a secret for now. He did however contact those who were on his parents Wills and explain that Dumbledore had ignored their wishes. Neville's Grandmother and Susan's Aunt were not happy with this news and promised to investigate. Considering both of them were high up on the V.I.P list of the Wizarding world he figured it wouldn't take them long to ruffle some feathers. Sirius and Remus would also do a little digging and be wary of the Headmaster. Hermione would probably get everything out of Harry before long but it would only be after he swore her to secrecy.

To help with the ruse, he'd gone back to the Dursleys on the day Arthur was to pick him up and waited outside with his unshrunk trunk, broom and Hedwig in her cage. The Dursleys of course didn't know this. When asked by the red head clan about his new look he said the Dursleys were more accepting of him getting his own things, since his murderer Godfather was on the loose.

Speaking of Sirius, Harry had met with the man, and Remus, a few times since leaving the Dursleys. He even celebrated a brilliant birthday with them. He didn't tell them he'd left, only that his relatives were giving him some space since there was a mass murderer Godfather on the loose. Sirius had a good laugh about that.

It was anything but a good laugh at the world cup. At least, after the world cup. The only good point was that no-one was killed. Harry was glad no-one recognised him with his new look. He did pity the little Elf that got into trouble. She hadn't done anything wrong. In fact he was so angry that Crouch had dismissed her in such a way that as soon as he got a moment to himself, he called her.

'What does little Master be wanting of Winky?'

It hadn't been more than a few hours, but clearly the rejection had taken its tole on her.

'Winky, I was there when Crouch let you go. I didn't think it was fair. You weren't the one to cast the dark mark'.

She sniffed and wiped her nose on her dress, but smiled a little knowing someone thought she wasn't bad.

Harry smiled back.

'I was wondering… I mean I don't really have much that you can do… But… If you wanted to be my Elf…?'

Winky's whole posture straightened in shock.

'Young Master wants Winky to be his Elf?! Even if Winky a bad Elf…'

'Winky you are not a bad Elf. And yes, I'd like you to be my Elf. Once I start school I'd love some help. Trouble tends to find me and it would be great to have someone to watch my back' Harry said.

Winky was practically dancing on the spot.

'Winky would love to be young Master's Elf!'

'Great! And please call me Harry. So how do I do this. Is there something I say or…'

'Master Harry just say he wants Winky for an Elf, then Winky says the same back and it's done'.

Harry figured the Master Harry thing was the best he was going to get, at least from dealing with Dobby.

'I Harry James Potter want Winky to be my House Elf!'

Winky squeaked and giggled before calming.

'I Winky be accepting Harry James Potter as my Master!'

There was a bright light as the bond completed itself. Harry grinned at the little Elf.

'Alright Winky, I've got some rules. If you think you did something wrong I want you to come to me and I'll decide what to do about it. I don't want you punishing yourself. Second, I don't want you overworking yourself. Though since I don't have much for you to do I guess you wouldn't be able to. I also want you to be well rested and fed. Third, anything I tell you has to stay a secret unless I say otherwise. I don't want Dumbledore knowing I have my own House Elf, he may try and take you away'.

Winky was gazing tearfully at him.

'Master Harry be caring about Winky! Winky be keeping all secrets for Master Harry! Headmaster Dumblydore won't be taking Winky away!'

Harry couldn't help but laugh.

'Thank you Winky. Now we've got to get you keyed into my trunk. Better get that done now before the Weasleys come in'.

It didn't take long to sort that out. Winky took one look at his idea of tidy and tutted, promising to pop back once she got cleaned up. Sheepishly Harry left her to it and headed out his trunk just as Ron came in about a quidditch game.


	7. Chapter 7

Harry was rather surprised he hadn't got a visit from Dumbledore yet. What with the blood wards falling he was sure the Headmaster would have hunting him down to drag him back to the Dursleys. Well he wasn't looking a gift horse in the mouth, he'd be under the man's eye soon enough.

The trio found a seat on the train and got themselves settled. Neville joined them before the train set off. Hedwig decided to fly instead of spending the day on a stuffy train so her cage was in Harry's trunk.

'Guys I've got something for you. I've already checked them and they work great in the magical world' Harry exclaimed.

He pretended to rummage in his trunk while summoning out three mobile phones and handed them over, along with a charger for Hermione. He'd brought the phones to a shop in Diagon Alley that worked with muggle items and had the man there tinker with them. Turns out a lot of muggle things can be made to work off magic, it just took a lot of tinkering to get the balance of magic and technology right. If that was out there was more chance of the things melting or exploding with all the magic in the air. They needed to be in magic areas though, hence the charger for Hermione for the summer months. He'd put a hundred quid in each of the phones, hoping that would do until summer

Hermione immediately hugged him and clicked hers on, while Ron and Neville looked dumbly at theirs.

'Here guys. It's called a phone. I promise it's real easy to use'.

Harry spent a while showing his friends what to do, with Hermione jumping in and helping out when Ron started looking frustrated. Harry knew it would take some time to sort out. He was just glad Hermione knew what she was doing.

'Oh Harry this is wonderful. Now we can keep in touch!' Hermione gushed.

'I know. I've already put all our numbers in each, along with a few others. Try to keep it a secret though, some professors might confiscate them' Harry replied with a smile. He of course meant Snape.

'Harry this is…weird. But great! You're saying I can press a few buttons and wherever you are I can talk to you?!' Neville exclaimed.

'Pretty much. Here I'll call you Ron' Harry said and quickly dialed. Ron jumped when his phone started making noises, and Hermione pointed out the button to answer it.

'Bloody mental!'

The rest of the train ride was spent tinkering and laughing and just generally having a good time. Until Draco decided to take his yearly visit.

'What are those?! Muggle things I presume. Pathetic! It's bad enough we have squibs and mudbloods, now muggle things are getting in as well. So Potter, enjoy the world cup?'

Ron was growing angry but Harry just didn't feel like taking any of the blonde's childish torments. With a hand on his red head friend's shoulder to calm him, Harry stood and went over. He stopped a few inches away from Draco and stared at the blonde. Draco already had his wand out, Crabbe and Goyle were cracking their knuckles. Harry sniggered to himself, did he really use to argue with people like this?!

'Go away Draco'.

He gently but firmly pushed the blonde out and closed the door. He concentrated hard on the lock and grinned when it clicked. Panting slightly from exhaustion he turned and collapsed back onto his seat.

'Silly bullies'.

He laughed as his friend's expressions, clutching his sides when Draco tried to fight with the door.

'Ok mate, who are you and what have you done with Harry Potter?!'

That just set him off again.

Once the train ride finished, they were joined in a carriage by Ginny and a little blonde haired girl called Luna. Harry liked her straight away, his new attitude happily accepted her odd little ways. They chatted as the carriage, apparently pulled by Thestrals according to Luna, took them to Hogwarts.


	8. Chapter 8

Harry could feel the Headmaster's eyes on him during the entire feast. He was sure he'd be called into the office before the day's over. He didn't much like the news about the Tri-Wizard tournament. He would bet a hundred galleons he'd wind up involved somehow. He smirked to himself. Good thing he had Winky.

Sure enough he was called up right after the feast. He waved off his friends and made the treck to the Headmaster's office. He was stopped part way by a frantic Winky. The little Elf waved her hands and the portraits were suddenly blank. Before Harry could question this, she spoke.

'Master Harry Sir! Bad professor! Winky's old master!'

Harry frowned and knelt, gently grabbing the little Elf by the shoulders.

'Calm down Winky. What do you mean by your old master? Crouch?'

Winky nodded, then shook her head, then nodded again.

'Young master Crouch! Hes be hiding as bad professor!'

Young Crouch? Harry wasn't up to date with the VIPs of the Wizarding world. Did Crouch have a son? And what about hiding as bad teacher. Snape? No, he couldn't see that man and Crouch as father and son. Harry's eyes narrowed. The new defense professor. He didn't have much faith in the defense professors so far. Remus aside. Hiding…

Harry snapped his eyes opened.

'Polyjuice! Crouch's son is posing as this Mad-Eye character under polyjuice potion?!'

Winky nodded so fast her ears flapped.

'But why? Why's he disguising himself?'

Winky whimpered and started rubbing her arms.

'Bad man. Old master bad man. Sent to Azkaban. Cast bad mark into sky' she whispered.

Harry's breath caught.

'A Deatheater! You're saying Crouch's son is a Deatheater?!'

Winky nodded just as quickly. Harry swore under his breath and rushed the rest of the way to the Headmaster's office. Winky rung her hands and popped away.

Albus wanted answers, and he wanted them now. Harry had managed to evade him all summer. And he only recently found out the boy was with the Weasleys. That Molly hadn't told him this was frustrating to say the least. His wards alerted him to Harry's arrival and he called the boy in. His surprise when Harry burst through the door was replaced by worry at the boy's words.

'Professor! There's a Deatheater in the castle! The new defense professor, he's under polyjuice potion!'

Albus swore to himself, the boy wasn't supposed to know that.

'Now Harry I can assure you I check all my professors to ensure they are safe to work with children'.

Harry bit his tongue to stop from arguing that fact.

'Sir I'm telling you the truth! You've got to check him!'

Albus silently shot a confundus charm at the boy. He didn't count for Harry's invisible family ring defending him from such actions.

'Now Harry my boy. Professor Moody and I have been friends for many years. I would know if he was acting differently. Now why don't you head on up to the tower. I'm sure you're tired from the train ride'.

Harry grumbled to himself. Clearly the Headmaster was ignoring him. Well fine then. He would keep an eye on this Deatheater. If Crouch Jr took so much as one step out of line, Harry would be on him.

'Ok Sir. I am rather tired'.

Albus smiled as he watched the boy leave. His smile slipped when he realised why he'd sent the boy to the office in the first place. Blast.

Harry also remembered why he was sent to the office, and smirked. Let the old man stew. Harry had no intention of being a good little puppet. He headed up to the tower, giving a quick explaination to his friends about Dumbledore just wanting to speak about his summer, and went to bed. With a silencing charm up, he called Winky.

'Winky, thank you for telling me about Crouch. I tried to tell the Headmaster but he didn't listen. We're going to have to keep an eye on Crouch'.

She looked nervous but nodded. Harry was starting to think Dobby wasn't the only abused House Elf.

'Don't let him see you. I want you to stay safe. Now could you tell me why you blanked out the portraits?'

'People in the pictures tell Dumblydore what they see' she replied with a relieved smile.

Harry grumbled to himself. That was another thing he'd have to watch. Good grief this was supposed to be a school! He grumblings were interupted by Hedwig appearing in the window and settling on the perch. Harry smiled and bid Winky goodnight, taking down the silencing charm. She smiled back and popped away as he turned to his familiar.

'Girl this place is getting crazier each year. I hope I survive till graduation'.

She hooted in agreement and accepted a few pets before making herself comfortable on her perch. Harry stifled a yawn and got ready for bed. By the time Ron, Neville and the others got in he was sound asleep.


	9. Chapter 9

During the night Harry had thought of a brilliant idea to get the Goblins to the Basilisk chamber without having to fight with Dumbledore. In the morning he called Winky and Dobby and led both to Myrtle's bathroom. There he suddenly wondered if he still had the parseltongue ability. He'd correctly realised that it could have come from the soul piece. He was delighted to note that he did indeed still have it and opened the chamber. The carcass reeked but thankfully hadn't rotted too much.

'Alright guys, we need to explore and see where the Basilisk got out to feed. Keep an eye out for traps and call me if you find someplace you can't get into'.

'Dobby will do that for Harry Potter' the little Elf exclaimed while Winky just nodded.

They split up and explored. Harry's first port of call was to clamber into the mouth of the statue. It took him to a large passageway, clearly where the Basilisk slept. There was a door right at the back however that Harry hissed open. Inside was a treasure trove. Rare books and plenty of potion ingredients including lots of plant life under status. Harry scanned the titles and found Salazar's journals and lots of interesting subjects, best of all there were some on wandless magic. He levitated the lot into his shrunken trunk clipped onto his belt. He'd figure out what to do with all of it later.

A quick check showed the passage held no more secrets so he headed back out. It seemed as though Dobby was succesful at finding an exit as the little guy popped in and pointed excitedly towards one of the tunnels. Winky joined them a while later as her search turned up nothing. They fell into conversation that ended with Dobby joining Winky as Harry's personal Elf. When Harry questioned why Dobby wanted to be his Elf instead of free, Dobby explained that free Elves loose their magic and eventually die. How long it took depended on the Elves contentment with their old master, which explained why Dobby was still healthy. With that explained to him, Harry couldn't fault the little Elf. It did make him more angry at Crouch Sr's actions towards Winky.

Together they followed the tunnel until they came out deep within the forbidden forest. Harry grinned, this was brilliant. He asked Winky to tell Barrok of this entrance and escort the group in. Dobby was more than happy to take over Winky's job of keeping an eye on Crouch Jr.

Winky popped back to tell Harry the group would be there by late afternoon. This suited Harry fine and all three headed back out the chamber. While the Elves popped away, Harry headed back to the tower to be with his friends.

Barrok arrived right on time with his team and Winky led them through the tunnel. Every Goblin there did a perfect Dobby expression at the size of the carcass. After recovering, Barrok grinned. This was more than he'd thought. He would make ensure some hide was turned to armor for Harry to make up the payment. He discussed this when Harry came down an hour later, and Harry agreed. He figured he would need the protection. And Barrok felt, if a fang knife made its way to Harry along with the armor, then it was no skin off his nose.

It took the rest of the day to harvest the carcass, but eventually some exhausted Goblins were led out to the forest with their cargo. Dobby and Winky were even nice enough to pop each of them back to the bank.

Albus sat in his office, planning his plans and sucking his lemon drops. Without the slightest knowledge of what was happening under his very nose.


	10. Chapter 10

Were girls always this pretty?! It seemed everywhere Harry looked there was a cute girl staring him in the face. Hermione was definitely not a bushy haired bucktooth little bookworm any more. He didn't know who blushed more when she hugged him for getting serious about his studies. Ginny was starting to show some curves. He discovered that when she went on a hugging spree when Molly wrote about the discovery of a quarter of a million galleons in the Weasley vault. Which of course prompted the twins into doing the same, not wanting to be outdone. Harry only hoped the Goblins didn't mention who was responsible otherwise he wasn't sure she'd ever let him go. Although thinking about it, was that really a bad thing?

Luna was just plain adorable with her odd little ways. He'd all but adopted her when he realised she was being bullied. No-one messed with his friends. The Patil twins had an exotic spice about them. Susan and Hanna had each gained a pair of nice assets. He made a point of being friends with them since Susan could very well have been his sister growing up. That girl over in Slytherin, Daphne was it, how had Harry managed to overlook her for three years?! The other girl, Tracy, was no slouch herself. He'd had lost count of the cold showers he'd taken since arriving back at school. The students arriving from Beauxbatons weren't helping in the slightest.

Harry shook his head to clear out the images and focused again on the book. He really wanted to get a grip on this wandless magic. He was slowly but surely getting there, exhaustion aside. Becoming an animagus was also high up on the list. So was learning occlumency, he just knew that would be helpful. And of course he kept up well with his normal school work. As much as Snape tried, he couldn't fault Harry's potion making skills. The man was as much a bully as his Slytherins. Being paired with Neville in Herbology was also doing him wonders. Divination was a joke though and the professor a touch mad. Harry was quick to owl order books on the classes he wasn't taking after the first class with Trelawney. He couldn't drop Divination so instead he fobbed the death predicting woman off with pretend dreams while he concentrated on Ancient Runes. History was its usual self so he skipped it entirely and worked in the library. Binns never noticed. He made one more attempt to report Crouch Jr when he started teaching using the imperius curse. He should have known it was useless to try. At least Crouch wasn't doing anything else. Well Dobby hadn't caught the man doing anything yet.

The teachers and students alike hadn't taken long to notice his new attitude to life. He was smiling more often and keeping up with his homework. Harry even had more of a zest for playing quidditch. Granted he was only playing with his mates since the official games were cancelled. And his new approach to bullying was really flustering Draco and his goons. After being shunned on the train, the blonde was practically out for blood and had stepped up his bullying. Or at least he'd tried to. It could have been the removal of the horcruxe, it could have just been that Harry was growing up. Either way the blonde's taunts were doing nothing for him. Even when Draco targetted his parents, his mother in particular, Harry response was calm and collected.

'Yes Draco, I'm an orphan. I'm not the only one in the school, and sadly I won't be the last one. My parents, and many other people of the war died as heros. My Father's family has been around almost since magic existed, and helped built the Wizarding world. My Mother was one of the kindest, sweetest, most intelligent person around, and quite frankly my Father was lucky to have her. So she was muggleborn, so what? I've seen more muggleborns and half-bloods do far better than many of the purebloods. And what's their reward for working hard and becoming bright caring people, to be shunned by their so called "betters". And then of course there are the purebloods that welcome these people with open arms. What to they get? They get labelled blood traitors. I spent five minutes in Molly Weasley's company and I liked her immediately. She was kind and helpful to a lost young boy and it didn't matter who or what I was to her. I spent five minutes with Hermione's parents and found two people who had happily adapted their lives because their daughter was born with magic, and who were willing to find out as much as they could about the magical world. I met your Father for the same amount of time, and the first thing out his mouth is an insult to the Weasley family because of something as silly as wealth. And he made no attempt to hide just how he felt about Hermione's parents being in Diagon Alley. That word you like to throw around, mudblood, you know what it means to me? Mud is more than something filthy you scrape off your shoe. Mud can be revitalising, plenty of people use it to help their skin. Mud can be nurishing, after all plants need it to grow. Mud can be playful, children love to jump around in it. When you call Hermione a mudblood, all I hear is you calling her a playful, nurishing person who revitalises the Wizarding world. And the idea the people are blood traitors because they choose a different way than you is nothing more than a silly idea from a couple of people who were scared to change. Stop being a childish bully'.

That was a lot to say, yet Harry said it with no anger or frustration in his voice. In fact he was smiling throughout it. He turned to Ron and Hermione who were gaping at him, along with most of the student body.

'Hermione don't you let something as silly as a name get to you. And if you can think of any other uses for mud then please by all means use them. And Ron, you've got something a lot of these purebloods don't have. You have siblings who would look out for you no matter what, and parents who aren't afraid to show you affection. Or yell at you if you did something wrong but hey that's part of their duty as parents. Having a lot of money can buy you a lot in life, but it can't buy you what's really important'.

He suddenly had his arms full of a tearful Hermione.

'Harry… You're right. I can't believe I was so stupid!'

She pulled away and wiped her eyes, then turned to Draco with a smile.

'You feel free to call me a mudblood as much as you like. In fact. I Hermione Jane Granger am a mudblood. And I am damn proud of it!'

Harry raised his eyebrows. He'd never known Hermione to swear before. And her declaration seemed to inspire a few others as well.

'You know what Harry, you've got a point. I Colin Creevey am also a mudblood. In fact I'm a playful mudblood since I use to love splashing around in it when I was young' Colin exclaimed, standing proudly with a big grin.

His brother Dennis quickly jumped up after him.

'Mudblood sound horrible but it's really just another name bullies try and call you. I think I'm a nurishing mudblood. I like helping my mum out in the garden all the time'.

'You missed the kind of mud that's used to make buildings Potter. I reckon you could call that creative blood huh? That's what I am, I Justin Finch-Fletchley am a creative mudblood' Justin called from the Hufflepuff table, standing tall and nodding with a smirk to Draco.

'Oy…!'

'Give us blood traitors a chance!' the twins suddenly called.

'Yeah mate. Us blood traitors need a say as well' Ron followed with a grin.

Fred and George took the stand.

'For many years our kind were labeled blood traitors'.

'Our willingness to change scared all the other purebloods'.

'So they tried to put us down!'

'Toss us in the trash!'

'Well we say enough is enough!'

'For you are the noble ones'.

'You are the brave ones'.

'And you are the beacons for all those blood traitors…'

'And half-bloods…'

'And mudbloods…'

'And even the creature bloods out there!'

'Blood traitors of the world…'

'We salute you!'

Harry was in kinks as they finished by doing just that. Fred and George grinned and bowed to the applause of the student body.

Luna came over and sat next to Harry.

'You should be a public speaker Harry, you seem to inspire a lot of people'.

Neville was too busy laughing to make a comment, but he did manage to slap Harry on the back. Some of the teachers were also fighting smiles. Except Snape, he was glowering at Harry.

Draco's face was a picture. He was so sure Potter would respond in his usual mannor if he insulted his mudblood mother. Now he had his favourite way of tormenting people taken from him. Scowling he stormed back to his own table and slumped down. What was it with Potter's new attitude?!


	11. Chapter 11

"_But Dumbledore suddenly stopped speaking, and it was apparent to everybody what had distracted him._

_The fire in the Goblet had just turned red again. Sparks were flying out of it. A long flame shot suddenly into the air, and borne upon it was another piece of parchment._

_Automatically, it seemed, Dumbledore reached out a long hand and seized the parchment. He held it out and stared at the name written upon it. There was a long pause, during which Dumbledore stared at the slip in his hands, and everyone in the room stared at Dumbledore. And then Dumbledore cleared his throat, and read out –_

_Harry Potter"_

He _knew_ he'd wind up involved in this tournament. Harry sighed and slumped into his bed. Once more, most of the student body had turned their backs on him. Ron included. That hurt him the most. And Fleur's "leetle boy" comment stung his pride.

'Master Harry?'

Harry glanced over at the little Elves. Winky fidgeted, but stood tall.

'Master Harry didn't put his name in the cup. Winky knows that'.

'Dobby knows that too. Harry Potter not want the attention' Dobby continued.

Harry gave them both a small smile.

'Thanks guys. Pity we don't know who did'.

Winky started wringing her hands.

'Winky thinks it be bad professor. He be here for a reason'.

Dobby nodded his agreement.

'Dobby didn't see him do it. But Winky right, he be here for a reason'.

Harry sat up as he thought about this. What possible reason would a Deatheater have to put his name into the Goblet? Besides the obvious reason that he hoped Harry would get killed. But Harry felt there was more to it, and he was sure Voldermort would play a part.

'Guys you might be right'.

He nodded to himself, decision made.

'Alright guys, if I'm going to be a part of this, I want to know what I'm up against. The first task isn't all that far away. We need to keep a closer eye on Crouch, and I need to find out who isn't playing into this attention seeking Boy Who Lived stuff'.

Both Elves nodded in determination and popped away. Harry got out some parchment and made a list. Luna from Ravenclaw. Susan and Hannah from Hufflepuff. And Ginny, Hermione, Neville and the twins from Gryffindor. Tomorrow morning he'd find out if any of these people believed him. It was only sad that Ron wasn't on the list. The red head had turned on him the moment he came out with the other champions. Harry quenched his frustration and picked up the book on wandless magic. He would try anything to help him get through this.

Turned out everyone on the list believed him. Susan and Hannah wished though to cheer for Cedric, which was fine by Harry since the older boy was the true Hogwart's champion. The rest migrated to the library to study up on previous tournaments, while the twins begged off so they could work on some ideas for pranks that would help Harry. It was strange that he had more faith in their pranks helping him than the professors. After Sirius and Remus found out what happened, Hedwig had to work overtime with their reactions. Once they calmed down though they immediately hit the books to help.

Draco was attempting to use this to launch a smear campain against Harry, but Harry really didn't care. The badges did have some pretty good charm work, but the insults were eight year old material. He had a good laugh when Winky told him the blonde wasn't the one to actually make the badges but paid some Ravenclaws to do it for him. Winky and Dobby were also on the alert for anyone trying to harm their Harry. And Hedwig was getting in on it by double checking every bit of mail other owls tried to send to her Wizard.

Harry had also contacted the Goblins, who came back with some good news. They were the ones to craft eggs used in the first task. And the rules stated that he wasn't allowed help from _Wizard_ kind. This was all the Goblins needed to tell him what the egg did. So he now knew he had to rescue someone dear to him from the black lake in the second task. He let slip that water was involved to the twins who immediately headed off to experiement.

The rules also said that there was a four hour period where the champions could be redrawn if there was something wrong with the first set. And Harry was pretty sure the Headmaster knew this, but forced him into it anyway. Hermione worked herself into a state when she found this out. Harry was quick to calm her, saying there was no point fussing, the time period was long passed.

All this group studying gave Harry a better chance to study his female friends. Ginny, while growing into an attractive young woman, was the little sister he never had. Plus it looked like Neville was interested in her. The way Hermione pushed a strand of hair behind her ear and stuck her tongue out slightly when concentrating was really, really cute. And little Luna was steadily coming out of her shell and had the most adorable giggle. Harry was in a right pickle. It was strange, what with all the danger and life threatening situations he found himself in, that hormones was now his biggest problem.


	12. Chapter 12

The first task was upon them. Hagrid was, Harry hoped, a lifesaver with his help about the Dragons.

He sat there, listening to the commentary for Viktor, poking the miniature Dragon prowling over his hand. The moment Harry found out about the Dragons, he and the group hit the books for anything that could help him pass this without being burnt to death. Dragons were apparently immune to most magic and of course, very dangerous. Cedric, who had gone pale when Harry told him, had transfigured a rock into a dog. Fleur used her Veela alure. From the sounds of it, Viktor was attempting to use brute force.

Crouch Jr had tried to approach Harry regarding the task but, classes aside, Harry wasn't going within ten feet of the man. He did it subtly enough so as not to arouse suspicion. It wouldn't do for Crouch to work out why Harry was avoiding him. The man certainly looked frustrated that he couldn't get to the Boy Who Lived.

Harry frowned as the little Dragon nipped his finger.

'_Stop that already!'_

He blinked when the thing did stop and looked at him. The Dragon tilted his head and made a confused noise. Harry narrowed his eyes.

'_Can you understand me?'_

It nodded. Harry's eyes widened. This was interesting. If a transfigured Dragon could understand parseltongue…

'And our next champion, Harry Potter!'

Harry took a deep breath and stood up. He transfigured a few twigs into a cage and put the little Dragon inside, putting it into his shrunken trunk on his belt. He wasn't sure how long the animation would last, but besides trying to eat his hand, the little guy was kinda cute. Harry steeled himself and walked out the tent.

The applause was stilted at best, but he didn't care. He was too busy sizing up the monster in front of him. He admired Charlie, he really did. The book on Dragons said that trainers had to always be calm and respectful. He hoped this worked.

'_Great Mother, I beg your assistance'._

The Dragon ceased her growling and stared at the little human. This one made no attempt to approach her eggs, unlike the others that she'd watched.

'_What do you want, human?'_

Harry breathed a tiny sigh of relief. It wasn't over yet though.

'_Great Mother, there is an fake egg in your clutch. If you would allow me to take it, I will not touch your young'._

She huffed and looked at her nest, sniffing each egg. She let out a roar of rage at realising the little human was right. It also made her think.

'_Is this fake what those other humans were collecting from the other nests?'_

'_Yes Great Mother. None of them wished to harm the young. We were all tasked by elders to fight your kind and take them' _Harry replied.

If he had bothered with the crowds he would realise it was far too quiet. The entire stadium was in shock. Remus and Sirius were in the crowds, Sirius in dog form. They'd nearly had a heart attack when Harry told them he'd been chosen as a champion, and decided to be there to ensure the teen didn't kill himself. They of course believed he hadn't put his name in the Goblet. They were currently sitting completely stunned as Harry stood _talking_ to a _Dragon._ They would be having words with their Godson after this.

The Dragon growled and turned back to her nest. Carefully she took the golden egg out and pushed it in Harry's direction.

'_Take it human. I will not fight with you'._

Harry slowly stepped forward and picked up the egg.

'_Thank you Great Mother'._

He offered a bow to her, which was returned much to the crowds astonishment, and walked back to the tent. Once inside, he let out a whoosh of air.

'Wow…!'

His eyes were closed so he had to judge who was suddenly squeezing the life out of him by his other senses. Vanilla scented, silky hair, slightly bushy. Hermione.

'Oh Harry I was so scared! I can't believe you actually spoke to that Dragon and it listened to you!'

'That was brilliant Harry!' Neville cheered, clapping him on the shoulder.

'Our Harrykins' Fred gushed.

'He even charms Dragons' George cooed.

Luna gave him a sweet smile and both she and Ginny gave him a quick hug before he was practically dragged into the nurses station by Madam Pomfrey, the group following. Remus and Padfoot ran in not long afterwards, followed by Ron.

'Harry! Mate that was incredible!'

Harry laughed when Padfoot almost drowned him in slobber.

'Down you daft mutt!'

He wiped away the drool and explained.

'I was sitting there with the little transfigured Dragon, wondering what to do, when the thing bit me. I told it to stop in parseltongue and it listened to me. I didn't really know what else to do so I gave it a shot with the real one'.

'Well you were the fastest out of there. I wonder what score you'll get?' Ron wondered.

Harry shook his head.

'Ron I don't care about the score. I don't care if I'm last for everything. I'm just glad I got out of there without getting hurt'.

It wasn't the right thing to say to the red head.

'But Harry don't you want to win?! What's the point in putting your name in the Goblet if you don't want to win?!'

Harry sighed.

'Ron, I didn't put my name in the Goblet. And if you aren't willing to accept that then there's really not much point in talking about it with you'.

Ron started to turn red with anger.

'Yeah Harry, sure you didn't! You just want more attention!'

Hermione was ready to tear into him but Harry shook his head.

'Don't bother Hermione. We've got two more tasks to work out, and I could really use my friends help. It's too much energy to argue over this'.

She huffed but agreed and the group walked back to the castle, leaving the red head alone to steam.


	13. Chapter 13

This was bad. This was very bad. Harry was becoming far too independent. Albus was sure that once Ron had turned his back on the boy that he'd be easy to manipulate into getting help from Crouch Jr. Albus needed the boy to help give Voldermort back his body. His plans just wouldn't work otherwise. But Harry instead turned to other people for help. What had happened over the summer that made the boy so confident? And why wasn't he rising to Draco's taunts? Even Severus couldn't get a rise out of the boy, and he really tried. It would appear that Voldermort's horcruxe was starting to take it's toll on Harry. Talking to that Dragon reinforced this idea. Albus couldn't allow the boy to become dark. There was still so much he needed Harry to do.

On top of all that, Amelia Bones had been contacting him regarding a serious incident he had willfully ignored. She wouldn't say what, only what he was under investigation and that if she heard of any other incidents involving him then he'd be in deep trouble. Albus felt like a naughty schoolboy the way the letters were written and he didn't like it, but he couldn't for the life of him think of anything he'd done that the ministry would catch wind of. He had a lot of secrets and it worried him that one of them might possible come out.

Fawkes looked sadly at the man. All this fighting and pain, just so Albus could rule the Wizarding world the way he wanted. He'd stayed with the man because at first Albus truly believed he was doing what was right. But now the man was becoming greedy. Fawkes knew that Harry had taken himself out of Albus' manipulations. Perhaps it was time Fawkes moved on as well. With a soft trill the Phoenix flashed away. His departure wan't even noted as the Headmaster tried to figure out how to get Harry back under his control.

Rita was not a happy reporter. She'd tried several times to get an interview with the Boy Who Lived, but to no avail. The selfish boy just wouldn't speak to her. She'd even dragged him into a closet to trap him into speaking, only for Potter to pull out a funny little device and start playing it, ignoring her entirely. Well she had a story now. The young brunette girl, the red head and the little blond were all over the boy saviour. A lovely four way relationship. Her readers would eat this up.

Crouch Jr was not a happy Deatheater. He'd tried several times to get close to Potter only to be blocked by the boy's friends. The Dragon was a fluke, he needed to get to the boy and push him in the right direction otherwise he wouldn't survive until the third task. Well, he'd get the boy with his gillyweed idea for the second task. He just needed to get Potter alone.

Harry was a very happy teenager. Hermione had yet to leave his side, she was still freaked out over the Dragon. Luna and Ginny weren't too far away either. Neville had given him a knowing grin over all the attention while Ron just sat there watching him enviously.

Sirius, when he had the chance to change back, had spoke at length with him along with Remus and the group. Harry quickly informed those who didn't know about Sirius' innocence and what happened last year. With that done, they discussed the next task. The twins came to the rescue with a tried and tested potion. Harry didn't want to know who they tested it on. It was supposed to act a bit like a bubblehead charm, except without the bubble. Oxygen would be gathered around him and taken in through his skin from the water around Harry. It meant no spellwork was required, leaving him open to use his wand if need be. It didn't have a time limit, the twins instead creating a counter potion. Since the air potion, as they called it, worked below and above the water, there was no rush to give him the counter until he was good and ready for it. Harry thought it was brilliant. They couldn't do much about getting through the water faster without resorting to spells, but Harry had an idea. Remus was tasked to buy a set of flippers and a good pair of goggles from the muggle world, and Harry would practice with them every day until he could swim fast in his sleep. He knew a warming spell he could use as well.

With that done Harry had one more thing left to ask. He wanted the animation spell on the mini Dragon to be permanent and keep the little guy as a pet. Chuckling Remus was happy to oblige.


	14. Chapter 14

A ball. A Christmas, Yule ball. Well didn't that give Harry more problems. Hermione or Luna? Ginny, Hannah or Susan? Or perhaps he should go for some flare and take Myrtle? Harry snorted, yeah that would make him stand out. His friendship with the girls already had him in the front page of the Prophet. Hermione had huffed, Ginny blushed and Luna just smiled dreamily. Harry took one look at it and laughed, informing the girls that he must be the luckiest boy on earth if he had three gorgeous young ladies all to himself. Ginny threw a roll at him and stuck out her tongue. Hermione gave him the "honestly Harry" look, but was fighting a smile. And Luna sidled over and cuddled into his side, smiling sweetly at anyone who glared at her. Hermione and Ginny glanced at each other, grinned and moved seats to sit on Harry's other side. The twins nearly fell off their seats laughing when Hedwig chose that moment to fly in and preen her Wizard's hair.

'We can't win Gred!'

'Yeah Forge. He's even sweet talked his owl!'

Later that day, The Goblins launched an assault on the Prophet, condeming it for printing false information and threatening to cut off all funding and claim back all loans. Luckily for the Prophet they had a nice scapegoat. Rita soon found herself out of a job, and now that her own picture was the one splashed across the page, not many people would hire her.

One date option for the ball was taken from Harry when Neville nervously asked Ginny and she shyly accepted, not long after the disaster that was dance class. Hannah and Susan were also out as they had found dates quite quickly. That left Hermione and Luna. Still a problem. Could he go to a ball with two dates…?

His wandless magic was coming along nicely. He could make that feather zoom around the room with no fatigue. Other simple spells he was also getting the hang of, and was starting to move into more complicated spells. He was rather proud of himself. And he was starting to see a shape with his animal form. It was a mammal, four legs and bushy tail. He wasn't sure if it was a dog, cat, or whatever else that fit that description. At least it wasn't a bunny. Harry Potter, Boy Who Lived, cute little fluffy bunny. His friends would love that. His occlumency was getting there too. The book said he had to picture a form of defence in his mind then use it to sort his memories. He wasn't nearly close to getting it perfect, but he had decided on what to use for his imagry for defence. A forest, filled with wildlife and plant life. He reckoned he could hide his memories in all the nooks and crannys, and use the animals as a form of protection. He could use someone to practice with, but he felt he could hold his own for a few minutes before his mind was broken into.

Now you may ask how Harry managed to do all this while at the same time keeping up with his homework, studying, and participating in the tournament. Well the answer is a time turner. Harry had found it in his family vault and was using it each day to expand his knowledge. Dobby and Winky had told him of a room in the school that he could use when he went back in time. They called it the come-and-go room. It was perfect for his needs, providing him with anything he wanted. He even used it if he needed some quiet time, and would sketch or have a childish game with his toys, or even sleep for a while. He trusted Dobby and Winky to get him up in time. Though mostly he trained. In fact, while he was chatting with Mama Dragon, he was also sitting meditating while attempting to sort his memories. Wasn't magic wonderful?

His decision for a date was made for him when Hermione informed them, a little shyly, that Viktor had asked her to the ball. He was a nice enough guy and Harry was happy for her. He was also happy to be able to ask Luna to be his date. She gave a little "oh Harry!" and accepted, then warned him that nargles tended to infest mistletoe and that the cure was to kiss them away. Harry wasn't sure if any of that was true, but who was he to say no.

He wound up dancing with all his girl friends. Plus a few others. All of them were very much the image of young princesses. He knew Hermione was pretty, but seeing her in her dress with her hair tamed down was breathtaking. And Ginny was most assuredly not a shy little girl any more. Luna was gorgeous looking in her pale violet dress. Susan had past the point of being a little girl and was now a beautiful young woman. Hannah was just as beautiful, her date seemed to think so. He'd managed to get a dance with both the Patil twins. He didn't know them well, but he did know that Parvati was more outgoing and liked to have a good old gossip with her friends, while Padma was slightly shy and prefered her studies. Both of course were lovely girls and Harry was pleased to steal a dance from them. Of course to have a dance with Parvati, meant to have a dance with Lavender, not that he was really bothered as she too was a very pretty girl. A little too outgoing for his tastes, but not in a bad way. Of course when the Gryffindor chasers realised he was giving out dances all three insisted on their own. Alicia managed to snag him first, Katie immediately after and a rather pouty Angelina complained on getting him last. Playfully of course. The fact that three beautiful young women were fighting over him baffled Harry. Fred and George didn't know whether to scold him for stealing their girls, of laugh themselves silly. And to top it all off, Fleur herself approached him for a dance. There was no need to describe her, everyone in the school knew she was gorgeous. He found himself the target of plenty of jealous glares all evening. Harry was thankful Hermione had insisted on extra dance lessons for him and Neville.

Of course he didn't ignore his date. Luna was the sole person who received more than one dance with Harry. And since there was mistletoe everywhere he wound up having to cure her of her nargle infestation quite a few times. A quick kiss on the lips or cheek seemed to sort them right out, and he felt it was his duty to make sure his other girl friends remained clear of nargles. Just once kiss on the cheek each though, didn't want their dates chasing him for stealing their girls after all. He did spot Ron, Draco, Cedric's date Cho and a few others giving him glares and looks of envy but he ignored them. It was all just a bit of fun and the girls understood. Neville seemed amused by the whole thing, before shrugging and giving a giggling Ginny a peck on the cheek. To be absolutely sure he said. Viktor, wishing to keep up, did the same with a furiously blushing Hermione. Though he did ask exactly why nargles didn't like kisses, which lead to Luna explaining all about the little critters and their habits. All in all it was a fun evening, and at the end of the night, ever a gentleman, Harry escorted his date back to her commonroom and gave her a sweet kiss goodnight.


	15. Chapter 15

It was time for the second task. Although the Goblins had told Harry about the egg, he still wanted to listen to it. Cedric was nice enough to give him the password for the prefect's bathroom, as well as a clue on opening the egg. Harry had thanked him and done just that. Upon hearing the sweet mermaid song he closed the egg, got himself dried and dressed and snuck it into his trunk. If anyone asked, he'd say he lost it. Not like anyone asked him about the mini Dragon after all. He'd named it Nipper. Hedwig wasn't at all pleased, but a few chicken treats and Harry telling her she was the most loyal and beautiful owl in the school calmed her. More buttering up she knew, but she rather liked being told she was beautiful. The little Dragon was nothing more than a pet she decided. She was her Harry's girl.

Harry strapped the flippers on and pulled on his goggles while Ludo Bagman babbled on about rules and whatnot. The twins had already had him take the potion, in fact he'd had a test run a few days earlier to make absolutely sure. Harry turned to the rest of his friends and gave them a thumbs up. He had been keeping an eye on everyone to see who would be taken as a hostage, but they hadn't been taken until the night before. The morning of the task Winky and Dobby had told him who each hostage was. Hermione was Viktor's, Luna was his and Cho was Cedric's. And an eight year old girl was Fleur's! How dare they use a child that young! Merpeople guards or not Harry was going to ensure all hostages were rescued.

As the whistle blew he dove into the water and made straight for the area he'd seen Hedwig hover over, once there he dove down into the deep. If he wasn't so determined, he'd be creeped out. There was a tentacle like plant that tried to drag him off, vicious little Grindylows that tried to bite his legs, and a leafy plant that Neville had warned him about. If he brushed against it and received a wound from it's razor sharp edges, a slow poison would work it's way into his veins. Good thing the Goblins had sent him their gift of Basilisk hide armour. The vest and trousers had the added benefit of helping him stay warm, and were light enough to swim in.

Harry hadn't yet seen hide or hair of the other champions. He thought he spotted a streak of blonde hair when he was escaping the tentacle plants, but it could have been a trick of the light. Noises were distorted so anything he heard he hadn't a clue what it was. Myrtle showed up to help point him in the right direction, and he nodded his thanks to her and took off the way she pointed. Grinning the ghost headed back to her bathroom. Harry had slayed the beast who killed her, she would help him any time he needed it.

Eventually he found the Merpeople village, and tied to stakes in the middle were the four hostages. Harry swam over and checked them. They were pale, but they seemed ok. He hovered around, waiting for the other champions to show up. Cedric arrvied first using a bubblehead charm and untied Cho. He signalled to Harry that the hour was nearly up before heading to the surface. Harry nearly had a heart attack when Viktor, with a transfigured shark head, zoomed up to him and snapped Hermione's bindings. The shark head gave Harry a nod and took off. Shaking himself out of his fright Harry scanned the area for Fleur. The Merpeople were getting restless so he decided to take Luna and the little girl himself. He found spears in his face when he swam towards the girl. Scowling Harry concentrated on his magic and shot out a beam of bright light. It was nothing more than a wandless lumos charm but it did the trick. He pulled out the small Basilisk fang knife the Goblins included in his gift and cut the bindings. Grasping hold of each girl's arm he quickly swam up to the surface. The Merpeople were still to dazed to follow.

Holding the now awake girls close to him Harry made for the platform. He and Luna helped the little girl up first before Harry had Luna brought up, then hauled himself up after her. Fleur immediately rushed down and pulled the girl into a hug. While Harry took off his flippers and goggles she tearfully explained that the tentacle plants had got her and she wasn't able to reach Gabrielle. Wiping her tears she gave Harry a hug and a kiss for saving her sister. Little Gabrielle, still somewhat scared, also gave him and Luna a hug. The poor thing was trembling.

'Harry my boy you only had to bring up your own hostage' Dumbledore said as they were all handed towels.

Holding his anger in Harry turned to the old man, smirking inwardly when Hermione looked ready to let loose on the Headmaster.

'And what right did any of you have to use a little girl as a hostage in the first place?! I mean it's bad enough you used hostages at all! The clue said that what was taken from us wouldn't come back once the hour was up! How was I suppose to know that was a lie!'

He turned back to Gabrielle when she began to cry. Kneeling down Harry brushed away her tears as she was hugged by Fleur.

'I'm sorry I didn't mean to scare you. You know your big sister would never have let anything happen to you. And I certainly wouldn't have allowed a cute little thing like you get hurt'.

His distraction worked and left her with a pretty blush. Fleur smiled her thanks, scowled at Dumbledore, and took her sister off to see their anxious parents. Harry's smile vanished when he looked back at Dumbledore.

'I hope the third task doesn't involve more hostages. I may be a champion but I'd be quite happy to sit the next task out and let _you_ do it if there are any hostages! If I'd known they weren't in danger in this task I wouldn't have bothered to participate'.

And with that he put an arm round Luna and headed off with Viktor and Hermione to join his friends, ignoring the judging entirely.


	16. Chapter 16

He'd done it! He'd finally managed to transform into his animal form! This called for a celebration, and he knew exactly what he wanted to do. While Harry number one was taking a swim in the Black Lake, Harry number two was making his way to Diagon Alley. Even if there was someone around to see him, they wouldn't be looking for a little black fox.

Harry had decided to be a bit of a rebel and get a tattoo. And he even knew exactly what he wanted. He was becoming really good at sketching and he'd brought one of his pictures in. Under face glamour of course. After a bit of consulting, and a tiny bit of fibbing about age, Harry found himself lying stomach down on a table. The man explained that once he'd inked the tattoo on Harry would have to take a potion to make it animated. Taking a nervous breath, Harry nodded to the man to begin.

It took a good hour to complete. Lucky thing he'd gone back three hours in time. Harry stood admiring his back in the mirror. A large stag stood in the center, big old grim on the left and large wolf on the right. The trio were standing in a semi-circle, gazing into the middle. Sitting there was a single white lily surrounded by a cascade of flowing red hair in the shape of a heart, entertwined with emerald green vines. Harry found himself almost in tears as Prongs glanced up to look at him, while the lily seemed to gently dance in an invisible breeze that made the heart of hair shimmer. Shrugging on his top Harry paid the man with a large tip for his work. He hurried back to Hogwarts, transforming when he reached the secret passageway. He really needed to think of a name for his animal form.

He also needed to think of a way to thank Myrtle. The idea that she and Sir Nick had missed out on the Basilisk payment made him realise they really deserved something. As it turns out Sir Nick was surprisingly easy. Harry spoke at length with the ghost and had wondered why the man hadn't asked the Baron to just cut off the rest of his head. Sir Nick looked stunned and immediately rushed off to find the bloody ghost. When Harry next saw him in the great hall he was sporting the biggest smile. And his head was tucked proudly under his arm. Sometimes the more obvious solutions is the best one.

Myrtle was a little harder, mainly because she didn't need anything. However, after a while of speaking to her, the girl slyly asked for a kiss as thanks. Harry wondered outloud if it were possible to kiss a ghost, and she replied it wouldn't be a real kiss. He would feel a slight chill and she'd feel tingly, but she'd accept it. Shrugging to himself Harry offered her a bow and attempted to wrap his arm round her waist. It would never be the kiss of her dreams, his arm kept slipping through her and it took a couple of attempts to catch her lips. But she giggled and blushed and said it was the best kiss in the world.

Her request made him realise he neded to seriously consider choosing a girlfriend. He'd fussed and fretted over the idea since there were three beautiful young women who were his best friends and, he didn't want to break any friendships. After the ball though, he'd made his choice. He only hoped she accepted.

'Hi Harry. Were you wanting to speak with me?'

Harry found himself growing nervous. He'd sent Hedwig away with a note to meet her by the lake that morning, and spent the time reciting what he wanted to say over and over. He was so sure he'd mess it up.

'Yes. I…I'd like to ask you something. You don't have to accept. We'll be friends no matter what you say'.

She tilted her head with a little smile.

'Well then…you'd better ask me'.

Harry took a deep breath and bowed. If he could negotiate with a Dragon, he could ask this simple little question.

'My Lady, I would like to ask, if you would do me the pleasure, of becoming my girlfriend?'

He heard a sweet giggle and bit his lip, hoping that was a good sign.

'That wasn't so hard, was it? My Lord Potter, I would love to be your girlfriend. I accept'.

It took a few moments for Harry to acknowledge the words. He lifted his head to look at her.

'You do?'

She giggled again.

'Of course. It'll be fun'.

He let out a whoosh of breath and straightened. Smiling he held out his hand, grasping her offered one and kissing the back of it.

'My Lady I do believe you've made me the happiest boy in school'.

She started fanning herself.

'Oh Harry! You say the kindest things!'

They managed to last for a few seconds before bursting out laughing. Harry grasped her waist and swung her round, then pulled her into a hug. He then gave her a confused look.

'Hey how did you know I was a Lord?'

He playfully pouted as she giggled.

'I tend to see things others can't. Does this mean you'll tell me everything you've been up to?'

He grinned.

'Well of course my Lady. I can't have secrets from my girlfriend now can I?'

He followed it up with a sweet peck on the lips. He then stood back and offered his arm.

'Well then, shall we head back to the castle? I know a nice room that we can sit in while I explain all my adventures'.

Luna smiled and took his arm, allowing herself to be led away. Her Daddy would love Harry, she couldn't wait to introduce him as her boyfriend.


	17. Chapter 17

'Master Harry! Master Harry!'

Harry groggily opened his eyes to find Winky and Dobby standing on his bed.

'Master Harry has to wake! Winky has very important message!'

He quickly checked the his dormmates, but Dobby had placed a silencing charm up so they hadn't heard the worried little Elves.

'Alright I'm up. What's wrong Winky?'

She started pulling her ears and ringing her hands. It was left to Dobby to explain.

'Dobby and Winky saw bad Crouch going into maze. Hes be in there for a long time before coming out. Dobby tried to see what hes be doing but Dobby couldn't'.

Winky was calm enough to continue.

'Winky very bad Elf. Winky snuck into bad master's room and looked round. Winky found real professor in trunk. Winky took him out and put him in come-and-go room'.

'WHAT!' Harry cried and jumped up. He threw on some clothes and grabbed his father's cloak. The sun was just peeking up over the mountains as he followed the Elves to the seventh floor. Dobby was the one to pace back and forth to make the door appear and they went inside.

'YOU TWO! What's the meaning of leaving me here?! I need to get to Crouch!'

Harry checked the man over. He seemed ok, just agitated. That was understandable. He didn't have his peg leg and funny eye device so Harry figured the Elves weren't able to get them for fear of making Crouch suspicious. Harry also noted a half eaten breakfast and made a note to thank the Elves.

'Sir are you ok? I'm Harry and this is Dobby and Winky my Elves. We've been keeping an eye on Crouch Jr, but we didn't realise he was holding you captive or Dobby and Winky would have got you out sooner'.

The man peered at him with his remaining eye.

'Harry? Harry Potter?'

'Yes Sir. I'm sorry Dobby and Winky kept you here. They wanted to tell me before doing anything else'.

The man grumbled to himself but nodded.

'Blasted Deatheater caught me by surprise. So much for constant vigilance. So, been keeping an eye on have you? Good lad. He's planning something for the tournament'.

'I know Sir. I've just been told that he snuck into the maze they're using for the last task. Dobby tried to follow him but he's using that eye. We don't know what he's done, but I plan on being very careful when I go in there' Harry replied.

The man looked startled.

'What do you mean go in there?! You ain't in the tournament are you?!'

Harry nodded and spent some time explaining everything that had been happening with the tournament. He trusted Dobby and Winky enough to know Mad-Eye, as the man prefered to be called, could keep some of his secrets, and so told him of the help he had in the first two tasks. At the end Mad-Eye gave a booming laugh.

'I like you lad. Constant vigilance indeed! You two Elves are alright. No harm done'.

He then sighed.

'That Albus and I have been friends for years. I don't know what's going on with him if he'd allow a kid to compete'.

'He's done more than that, but it's kinda personal information. So what are we going to do now? I've got to compete, and I've got lots of help, but we need to see to Crouch' Harry replied.

'You leave that to me lad. Gonna rattle some cages at the ministry. I need a way outta the school unnoticed though' Mad-Eye said.

Harry asked the room for a new peg leg and some robes, then led the man out through one of the passageways. He quite liked the real Mad-Eye, he could definitely see how the man got to be a high ranking auror before he retired. Fighting a yawn Harry made his way back to the commonroom to get ready for the last task. After he took a shower and dressed in his Basilisk armour, he and the Elves worked out a plan. Dobby and Winky agreed to partol the maze unseen and disable any traps and critters inside. They were also on the lookout for whatever Crouch did. They double and triple checked everything. Praying for some of his Potter luck, Harry then made his way to the great hall.


	18. Chapter 18

Luna had also decided to give him a goodluck kiss before he hauled himself off to the maze entrance. Harry went through his list one more time as Bagman rambled on. Glancing to the judge panel found Percy taking Crouch Sr's place. Harry remembered seeing the dilerious man stumbling from the forest and begging to see Dumbledore. Crouch Jr however got to him first, and Harry just knew the poor man was no longer amongst the living.

Harry watched as one by one the three champions ran into the maze. He trusted Dobby and Winky to keep the others out of harms way. If he only knew what Crouch Jr had done.

'Harry my boy, it's your turn!' Bagman exclaimed.

Harry grumbled to himself as he headed inside. He hated it when people called him "my boy". He took the first left and immediately transformed into Ebony. The little fox took a moment to get his barings before taking off. He barked happily when Winky appeared and showed him the way. He passed quite a few frightening creatures, all of which the Elves had got to first. He froze when he heard a scream and ran towards the sound. He found Dobby seeing to a frozen Viktor, while Fleur lay unconsious.

'Master Krum be under impery curse. It make him hurt Miss Veela. She be ok' Dobby explained.

Ebony transformed back and shot out red sparks from his wand. He asked Winky to keep an eye on the two until help arrived. He was sure Crouch was the one to put Viktor under the curse. Turning back to Ebony he and Dobby continued their way into the center. Harry once more thanked the lords that he's asked the Elves to help him as they passed a frozen Manticore. And then he seen one of Hagrid's Blast Ended Skrewts and thanked every deity he could think of. Those bloody things were vicious.

'The cup be up ahead. Harry Potter will let Dobby check it first' Dobby said.

No arguments there. Unfortunately someone else was ahead of them. Ebony transformed back as he spotted Cedric reach the cup. Dobby quickly popped out of sight.

'Cedric wait!'

The older boy turned to him. Harry started running.

'Don't touch it! It might be tampered with'.

Cedric frowned and glanced back at the cup. After a moment of thought he decided to wait and waved at Harry in agreement. As he did Dobby and Winky appeared behind him and signalled to Harry that the cup was indeed tampered with.

Harry's relief didn't last as suddenly an Acromantula appeared at Cedric's side. The giant spider must have broken out of his frozen state. It lunched at the older boy who stumbled back. Harry watched in horror as Cedric started to fall towards the cup. He did the only thing he could.

'Accio cup!'

It came sailing towards him, missing Cedric's fingers by millimeters. The Elves were quick to re-freeze the Acromantula but it was too late for them to stop Harry touching the cup. Harry's world spun as he vanished from the maze.


	19. Chapter 19

Albus put on a frown as the Diggory boy explained how Harry had summoned the cup just as he was about to touch it. That the cup could have been tampered with was ignored. At least by the headmaster. Giving a grandfatherly smile Albus hustled the Hufflepuff away to see his parents while he went to go back to his seat. That was until Minerva began to nag. He knew there was a reason he didn't like her.

'Albus Mr Potter should have arrived back at the entrance when he touched the cup. We need to start looking for the boy'.

'I'm sure Mr Diggory only thought he saw Mr Potter take the cup. Harry's probably still in the maze' Albus replied.

Minerva was not impressed at his dismissive attitude. She'd been against this tournament from the start and had yet to hear the Diggory boy lie in all his time at Hogwarts. She started to launch a rant at the man, when there was an unexpected arrival.

OOO

Finally Crouch thought to himself. No matter what he tried he hadn't been able to get close to the boy throughout the tournament. He didn't know how Potter had managed the second task, but all that mattered was he survived. And now, finally, the boy had taken the cup. The Diggory boy had almost beaten him to it but Potter had summoned the cup to him. Crouch rubbed at the magical eye. Useful thing it was, he should really consider keeping it. As a third set of sparks came from the maze, he set off back to the castle. Locking the door to his office he brought out a bottle of firewhiskey to celebrate. Soon his Master would be back and the world would fall before them. He chuckled and kicked Moody's trunk. All was right with the world.

BANG!

'STUPEFY!'

Or it was.

OOO

Amelia Bones was always known as a fair woman. Her position demanded it. So when she got a letter from Harry Potter saying his parent's Wills had been ignored, and by Albus Dumbledore of all people, it set alarms off in her head. She immediately started investigating. She had some unexpected help when Augusta Longbottom contacted her with the same letter from Harry. Turns out both of them were listed to take care of the boy after the tragic death of his parents. Apparently, so was Sirius Black. Amelia took this information and used it to obtain a copy of the Will. The Goblins were quite really helpful. She was surprised to find that it had been updated just before the Potters had gone into hiding. This led her to check on the files of Sirius Black. Something just didn't add up. Her hunch was correct as there were absolutely no files on Black's trial. A bit more digging uncovered that he wasn't given a trial. Someone was not doing their job properly.

She remembered the letters her Susan had sent regarding last year when Black was seen in Hogwarts. For a while afterwards, Harry had protested Black's innocence, claiming Peter Pettigrew was the real betrayer. Nothing was done about it though, and Harry eventually stopped protesting. Amelia didn't like what she was discovering. She exchanged a few more letters with Harry, asking for any information he had. Turns out he had a lot to give. He replied with his entire set of adventures since arriving at school, described in great detail. He also gave her a run down of his life at his relatives. More and more alarm bells were ringing in Amelia's head. The diary incident especially interested her. She asked Harry if he knew where the House Elf was that told him about the diary. The one supposedly belonging to Lucius Malfoy. His reply to that was the Elf himself popping into her office. Dobby was a wealth of information, and everything he said about his former Master was digging Lucius a bigger and bigger grave. Amelia smirked, this information could nail the man.

She took all this to Augusta, and the Longbottom monarch used this to hold a few meetings with members of the Wizengamot. That Albus Dumbledore AND Lucius Malfoy couldn't attend due to school business was unfortunate. The meetings went on for days, but eventually Amelia got what she wanted. Fudge was backed into a corner and finally gave her authorization to use veritaserum on Lucius. He also agreed to a trail for Black when they found him, instead of immediately handing him to the Dementors. Crouch was now under investigation for his involvement in the case. However no-one would condemn Albus Dumbledore, leader of the light, for any crime.

It was at this time that Alistair Moody appeared in her office. The man looked haggard and demanded she listen to him. His tale shocked her. Crouch Jr was still alive! Moody told her of how Harry and his Elves helped him escape, and what the boy had done so far, including his issues with the Headmaster. This was the lucky strike Amelia needed. Albus had a date with a ministry cell.

With all this achieved, Amelia gathered a team of Aurors and made for Hogwarts. Kingsley Shacklebolt and Nymphadora Tonks were her most trusted and it was them that she explained what the plan was. The others were simply given orders to arrest Crouch Jr, if they could find him, and escort Albus to the ministry.

They arrived as the last task of that blasted tournament was drawing to a close. As Amelia saw to Albus, Moody took some Aurors and headed to Crouch's room. They hit it lucky. The man had been drinking and was caught off guard. He was stunned and bound. As they were taking him out, Winky popped in.

'Master Harry be in a graveyard. Dark Lord there. Master Harry already stopped him but wants Mad-Eye to come with Winky to help'.

'The Dark Lord!' Tonks yelled.

'Stopped him you say? Right then. You know where this graveyard is or can you just pop us there?' Moody asked.

Winky nodded, nodded again, then shook her head.

'Winky can't pop more than one person. But Master Harry told Winky where the graveyard be'.

She gave them the details, then popped away with Tonks just encase Harry needed help. The rest of the team headed outside to relay this to Amelia, and after Crouch and Albus were seen to, they all apparated to the site.


	20. Chapter 20

Harry was really starting to hate portkey travel. When the world stopped spinning he groaned and picked himself up. He was given a second or two to realise he was in a graveyard before there was a flash and he was dragged up against a gravestone. He growled when he realised what had happened.

'Pettigrew!'

The rat faced man smirked at him as he tightened the binds. Harry struggled as he watched Peter head over to a huge lit cauldron. The man squatted down where a bundle of robes was sitting.

'Everything is ready Master'.

'Begin!'

Harry's breath caught as Peter lifted up what could only be Voldermort.

'Harry Potter. Your blood shall be used to revive me, and then I shall kill you!' the ugly baby like thing hissed.

Harry fought down the panic as it was placed into the cauldron, causing a splash. He heard a hissing sound and glanced down to find a massive snake slithering over to the cauldron. Well this was not turning out to be a good day.

As Peter scurried around, there was a quiet pop behind Harry.

'We's be here Master Harry' he heard and breathed a sigh of relief.

Dobby and Winky snapped their fingers and everything froze. Winky then snapped hers again and Harry's bindings dropped to the ground.

'Thank you' Harry breathed.

'We's not be letting anything happen to Harry Potter' Dobby replied.

Harry had the Elves keep an eye on the others, while he took a quick look round to figure out where he was. He spotted a sign and smiled, heading back to the cauldron.

'Guys we need to get all this sorted out. I need one of you to tell Mad-Eye where we are. Pop him here if you have to, just make sure he gets here to see all this. If you can get anyone else here then great. We need people to see Pettigrew alive so we can help Sirius'.

Winky nodded and popped away after Harry gave her the location. He brought out his wand and carefully peeked over the side of the cauldron. The water wasn't quite at boiling point, he figured Pettigrew was going to add more to it first. His blood being one ingredient. Well, it would make for an interesting way of leaving a body. Now what was that spell?

'Incendio!'

He concentrated hard on the cauldron, making it grow hotter and hotter until the water began to bubble furiously. He didn't stop when there was an almighty scream from inside. Finally he sent out a blast of magic that tipped the cauldron over, covering the frozen snake and burning it to death.

Exhausted Harry slumped against the nearest gravestone. Perhaps he should have used his wand. As he sat looking at the gruesome scene, he wondered what might have happened if he hadn't discovered wandless magic. He glanced at his ring, wouldn't have known about that. Wouldn't have known about Crouch either. In fact he wouldn't have known about a lot of things. The worst part, he felt, was that he would never have had the courage to do all the things he did. Telling off Draco. Asking Luna to be his girlfriend. He would likely have still been under Dumbledore's thumb, totally ignorant to everything around him.

'Is Harry Potter alright?'

He smiled at the little Elf.

'Yeah Dobby. I'm great. Just a lot to take in'.

Dobby nodded. His Harry was always being put in bad places. Dobby was glad he could help. And he was glad Winky could help too. She was nice.

They glanced over as Winky popped back. With her was a young looking woman with bright pink hair.

'Mad-Eye be coming once he tells others' Winky explained.

Harry thanked her and turned to the woman.

'I guess that means you're an Auror?'

'That's me. Name's Tonks' she replied, looking a little green at the scene. Harry explained what happened while she prodded the roasted baby man. She let out a whoop when she saw Peter.

'I knew Sirius was innocent! I just knew it!'

The arrival of Mad-Eye, Amelia Bones and a team of Aurors had Harry explaining everything again. Mad-Eye told him they'd got Crouch and even had Albus under investigation. Amelia, after introducing herself, also mentioned that the information given to her by Dobby meant that she was also looking to bring Lucius Malfoy in for questioning. This time with truth serum.

As the team poked around the sight, Harry pulled out his phone and dialled. He made a note to give a phone to Luna as it rang.

'Harry? Where are you?! Cedric saw you touch the cup and disappear but you didn't reappear outside the maze! And then everything went crazy! What is going on?!'

Harry couldn't help but laugh. He toyed around with a white wand that Pettigrew had dropped, before snapping it and throwing it over his shoulder.

'Hey Hermione. Might wanna get the others to listen in. You're not gonna believe what's happened this time' he replied.

The End


	21. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

Harry wound up handing the prize money to Cedric, since the older boy would have got to it first.

In the years that followed, there came many changes to the Wizarding world.

Albus Dumbledore was tried for child neglect and child endangerment. He was sentenced to Azkaban for twenty years. While there he made attempt after attempt to bully, bribe and guilt trip his way out. None of them worked. Neither did calling on Fawkes. The Phoenix had moved to Greece and met up with a nice female Phoenix. The elder wand was of course confiscated and placed in a storage room in Azkaban. No-one saw a skeletal hand reaching out to pick it up. The second Hallow was back in its creator's grasp. Death examined it as he thought about the last Hallow. The cloak was in good hands. He'd be seeing Mr Potter later. Many, many years later.

Lucius was placed in Azkaban, in a cell next to his dear old sister in law, for his crimes. Crouch Jr joined him in the cell opposite. Turns out to obtain the mark of a Deatheater, you must first want to become one. That meant the imperious curse excuse was out. Amelia used this to gather every so called reformed Deatheater and place each of them under veritaserum. Azkaban became quite a busy place after all the trials. Lucius' wife Narcissa was cleared of any charged made against her. Now that she was out from under Lucius' control she took a firm hold of the reins and began to enjoy her life. And, under the threat of becoming Draco No-Name, her son relented in his arrogant ways.

Speaking of trials, Sirius was finally granted his. The man happily stuck out his tongue for the veritaserum and was quickly pardoned. He quickly demanded, and received custody of Harry, and took his rightful place back in the Auror squad beside his cousin Tonks.

She, to his amusement, had taken quite a shine to Remus, and a few years later, with a lot of encouragement, the two married. By that point many laws had been made redundant, and the Werewolf found himself able to work in the Wizarding world.

Severus Snape was also put under trial. Without Albus there to help he was sure he'd be given a life sentence. To his surprise, the jury took into consideration that he'd realised the error of his ways and attempted to fix his mistakes. They put him on probation for the next two years. He decided to quit his job and become self employed, taking orders and researching ways to improve potions. His discoveries led to a better wolfsbane that prevented pain during the full moon. With the new Werewolf laws, his work earned him a fortune.

Ron eventually came to his senses about the tournament. Hermione wasn't for letting him back into the group just like that however, and had the boy on probation until he could curb his jealous ways. His graduation was spent partying with one Lavender Brown, and when it was discovered he'd got her pregnant, he settled down with her a year later. He found it hard to take when Bill announced that he was marrying Fleur.

Hermione continued to write to Viktor after he left and it wasn't long before love blossomed. After graduation she spent some time in his homeland, returning with quite the shiny on her finger. They married a few months later.

Neville and Ginny also officially got together. The Weasley and Longbottom families were delighted by the news and the two married immediately after graduation. The better news was that with Hermione's help, a way of helping Neville's parents was discovered. He was soon able to joyfully introduce his fiancé to his parents.

Harry found himself pleasantly surprised when Dobby asked him for permission to be with Winky. The two made a sweet couple, and along with Hedwig continued to always look out for their Harry.

Harry finally managed to give Luna her own phone. And Luna was able to introduce Harry to her Father. They hit it off immediately. Harry waited until she graduated before proposing, and of course she accepted.

'Daddy, are you ready to go?'

He waved his hand and the little red ball came to him. Smiling Harry tossed it to his daughter.

'I'm always ready. Lets go and have some fun'.


End file.
